“The vote was 263 to 171, with the bulk of the opposition coming from Republicans. Because the Senate already approved the measure, it immediately went to President Bush, who signed it into law. On the theory that this would be a way to convince previously skeptical Democrats to approve the measure, one large chunk of the bailout bill is devoted to renewable energy, energy-efficient appliances, and so on (the ‘Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008′). The authors lured Republicans with protections from the alternative minimum tax (via the ‘Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008′). That includes, as the New York Post pointed out, millions in tax breaks and related pork for kids’ wooden arrows, Puerto Rican rum producers, auto race tracks, and corporations operating in American Samoa. (The likely explanation for the latter: StarKist has a large tuna-canning operation in American Samoa. And StarKist’s parent company happens to be located in the district of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.) The bill has become, in other words, something almost unrelated to the business of bailing out Wall Street. The Beltway term for this is a ‘Christmas tree bill,’ meaning everyone gets to hang their favorite spending projects on it — though by the time Congress gets it through, it more closely resembles a slop bucket.” (10/03/08)